The leadership of the National Museum of Qatar and the Museum of Islamic Art, both in Doha, Qatar, projected images of the Palestinian flag onto the exterior of both museums within 36 hours of the terrorist group Hamas launching an violent invasion of Israel.
As of this writing, the surprise terror attack on Saturday morning against communities bordering the Gaza Strip had killed more than 900 Israeli citizens and resulted in the abduction of around 150 hostages. It was the most violent and deadly attack against Israel in a half-century, and has prompted countries around the world to denounce Hamas's actions. Many landmarks around the world—including the Empire State Building in New York and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin—were lit with the colours of the Israeli flag in solidarity.
Israel subsequently declared war against Hamas and launched retaliatory strikes that, according to reports, have resulted in the deaths of around 830 people as of Tuesday 10 October, according to a statement shared by the Gaza Ministry of Health. The Israeli military has said it has recovered the bodies of around 1,500 Palestinian fighters.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa, sister of Qatar’s ruling emir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and chairperson of Qatar Museums, shared images of the projected flags on the evening of 8 October, to her more than a million followers on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, with the message: “Oh Allah, we entrust Palestine and its people to you.”
The decision by Sheikha Al-Mayassa and Qatar Museums to post and project images of the Palestinian flag comes against the backdrop of news that Qatari mediators, representing the Qatari emir, are attempting to negotiate the freedom, via a prison swap, of the scores of Israeli women and children seized by the terror group on 7 October and whom are now held in Gaza, according to a report by Reuters.
Hamas's terror attacks came as the US was brokering negotiations to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The timing of the attacks is likely to upend—or at least set back—any deal between Israel and the region's Arab superpower.
